State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) said he wants Wolff to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the prison system and the transition report, which she said was compromised by transition team members’ financial interests. Wolff wrote in her memo that lucrative contracts for halfway houses create an incentive for an "aggressive defense of the status quo."

Today’s report, in the works for months, targets $61.5 million in contracts for halfway houses, saying the money would be better spent inside the state prison system.

Halfway houses provide rehabilitative services to about 2,600 people at a cost of approximately $23,000 each per year. That’s far less than the $48,000 average spent on inmates at state prisons, but Wolff argues more money could be saved if the same services are offered before inmates finish their mandatory prison terms.

"It does not make economic or rehabilitation sense to hold people for years, providing them minimal to modest access to skill building services, and then purchase community-based services for some of those who meet the criteria," the report reads.

Advocates of halfway houses, also called community treatment centers, said they provide better services at lower prices.

Wolff’s report surveyed 4,000 inmates nearing their release at 11 of the state’s 13 prison facilities. The state is responsible for 27,600 inmates, and about 14,000 are released every year, according to the Department of Corrections.

Inmates who accessed prison services — which include job training and educational classes — said they were helpful, according to Wolff’s report. But some reported significant health and financial problems, and many have drug-related convictions that will prevent them from accessing state welfare programs upon release.

Some Democratic legislators have asked for more services to inmates in the hope they will be less likely to commit new crimes when they’re released.

A package of bills was scaled down to push it through a cost-conscious Legislature. Although the $6 million price tag is less than 1 percent of Corrections’ more than $1 billion budget, a prison official said at a December hearing the department already is strapped for cash.

NJ Department of Corrections is one of the largest farmers in the state

NJ Department of Corrections is one of the largest farmers in the statePrison farming - With six dairy and crop farms totaling 1,930 acres, the New Jersey Department of Corrections is one of the largest farmers in the state, according to the Department of Agriculture. Dairy farms run by the DOC's self-sufficient AgriIndustries program maintain some 700 animals statewide and run almost exclusively on prison labor. Prisoners either live on the farm or are bussed in as day laborers. And though its tough work, rolling hills beat a prison cell any day, say these minimum security inmates. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Thrift store gives female ex-prisoners a second chance

Thrift store gives female ex-prisoners a second chanceSome students at Monmouth University are learning about entrepreneurism
and how to give back to their community. They recently opened a thrift boutique in Neptune City that will benefit women who are leaving prison and want a second chance at life. (Video by Joe Perone/The Star-Ledger)